Provisional export credit allowed on exporter-certified AR4 to reduce delays pending final acceptance of proof of export.
Delays in credit to running bond accounts may be mitigated by allowing provisional credit on the basis of an attested photocopy of the exporter's certified AR4/AR4A; final credit awaits Maritime Commissioner's intimation of acceptance. Customs should furnish sealed duplicate/triplicate AR4 copies to exporters for delivery to concerned officers. Customs must not withhold export clearance for lack of the Range Superintendent's triplicate AR4 where exporters remove goods without Central Excise examination, provided the exporter executes the bond under Rule 13 or Rule 14 and records bond details on Form AR4.

MODVAT credit utilisation allowed for inputs exported under bond, treated as final products for duty payment or refund parity.
Credit under the MODVAT scheme for inputs exported as such under bond may be treated like credit for final or intermediate products: MODVAT credit in the RG-23A Part II account against export of inputs under bond can be utilised towards payment of excise on home consumed goods or refunded in cash in the same manner as provided for final products, and such inputs may be exported under bond without reversal of the credit.

Taxable service by stock brokers clarified: principal-to-principal trades not taxable, investor-facing transactions are taxable under service tax.
Clarification that taxable service by stock brokers depends on provision of service to an investor: principal-to-principal trades between member brokers are not taxable; broker transactions on own account with a non-member investor are taxable; arbitrage between brokers of different exchanges is taxable as service to an investor.

Modvat credit not to be denied where duty on inputs is paid under the special removal provision on valid excise invoices.
Credit for modvat must not be denied where duty on inputs removed under the special removal payment provision has been paid on excise invoices issued under the excise invoice regime; amendments to invoice requirements were procedural and not intended to prevent users who paid duty on such invoices from availing input credit.

TDS certificate acceptance requires book-adjustment credit with date; issuing DDOs must obtain TAN and file returns.
TDS certificates for taxes remitted by Central Government DDOs by book adjustment must be accepted if they indicate credit afforded to the Income-tax Department by book adjustment and specify the date; Assessing Officers may verify genuineness with DDOs. Issuing DDOs must obtain a TAN, file Annual TDS Returns with the jurisdictional TDS authority, and quote the TAN on such certificates.

Independent examination of ICD/CFS proposals required; commissioners must apply Board norms before forwarding to the commerce ministry.
Proposals to set up ICDs or CFS must be examined by Commissioners independently of Port Trust reviews, applying Board norms and guidelines; Commissioners' reports are to be sent to the Board for onward transmission to the Ministry of Commerce, with provision to send an advance copy to the Ministry in urgent cases.

Product classification: Cardenol treated as cashew-industry product and eligible for central excise exemption after purification.
Cardenol is obtained by purification/distillation of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL); chemical tests show no change in molecular structure and administrative inputs classify cardenol producers as part of the cashew industry. Prevailing authority treats distillation purification as not amounting to manufacture, and consequently Cardenol is a product of the cashew industry and eligible for central excise exemption.

Export certificates for executives' carried equipment can be issued in advance, valid one year, with specified item details.
Authorises advance issuance of Export Certificates at Customs Houses, International Airports, Sea Ports, ICDs, FPOs and cargo complexes for frequently travelling executives; certificates must be serially numbered, sealed, include product name, manufacturer, marks/numbers/mode and year of manufacture, and remain valid for one year; Commissioners must publish notices naming officers authorised to issue them.

Acknowledgement of trade representations: mandatory acknowledgement and reply required for all customs correspondence under Board instruction.
The Central Board directs that every letter or representation received from trade or associations must be acknowledged and replied to, and provides a prescribed proforma of acknowledgement for adoption to ensure customs correspondence is tracked and responded to.

Service tax registration and centralised assessment: prescribed registration form and designated officers to ensure timely compliance.
Registration requires filing the prescribed registration form with the Deputy Commissioner at Ludhiana or the Assistant Commissioner in other divisions, who must issue a registration certificate within seven days if the application conforms with the Finance Act and Service Tax Rules. Assessment and collection are centralised under the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, and divisional Assistant Commissioners, with Superintendents designated as assessing officers and an additional Inspector (Service Tax) to be posted to support divisional workload; these officers must ensure timely compliance.

Service Tax accounting codes for advertising, courier and paging require specified TR-6 challan entries and authorised bank deposit.
Service Tax on advertising, courier and paging services must be deposited via TR-6 challan under Major Head 0044 with the allocated Accounting Code Nos. entered, the Division name and code (STC, code 71) and the appropriate Range name and code; collection is through authorised bank branches and designated focal point branches listed for the Commissionerate of Central Excise, Mumbai-II.

Service tax account allocation requires advertisers, couriers and paging agencies to deposit collected tax under prescribed accounting heads.
Deposit of service tax for advertising, courier and radio paging services must be made on the Yellow TR 6 Challan under Major Head 0044 - Service Tax. Authorised collecting agencies and departments are directed to use the newly allocated minor heads and corresponding sub heads specified for Advertising Services, Courier Services and Radio Paging Services for all tax collections henceforth.

Capital gains exemption investments: approved instruments and compulsory investible capital allocation with compliance requirements.
Sections 54EA and 54EB exempt capital gains where proceeds are reinvested in Board notified instruments; HUDCO bonds and mutual fund units (three or seven year repurchase terms as applicable), seven year bank deposits and HUDCO seven year bonds are notified. Public companies and financial institutions issuing qualifying bonds, debentures or primary issue shares must obtain Board approval, invest 60% of investible capital in defined infrastructure/power/telephone/oil and gas, invest at least 25% in such infrastructure within one year and the balance within three years, file annual Accountant certificates, and face withdrawal of approval for non compliance.

Handicrafts classification extends to metallic yarn from duty-paid metallised polyester film; apply established handcrafted tests.
Clarification states that metallic yarn made from duty-paid metallised polyester film is to be treated as handicrafts for the purposes of the Board's notification. It further directs that the judicial tests for handicrafts-predominant manual production (machinery use not dispositive) and substantial visual ornamentation or artistic enhancement-should be applied when deciding qualification under the Circular and the notification.

Baggage allowance: non-commercial portion remains eligible for free allowance even if other items are commercial.
Where some baggage articles are in commercial quantity and liable to adjudication and confiscation, those articles must be segregated and processed accordingly; the remainder of the baggage that is not in commercial quantity remains eligible for the free baggage allowance and is not rendered non-bonafide by the presence of commercial-quantity goods.

Disposal of waste from imported jobbing: destruction allowed under Central Excise supervision for non-commercial waste with safeguards.
Destruction of waste from jobbing on imported materials is permitted only for waste that has no commercial value and must be carried out under Central Excise supervision. Authorities must ensure the quantum of wastage destroyed is genuine and that finished goods are not diverted to the local market. Commissionerates are to issue public notices or standing orders to inform trade and departmental officers of the procedure and safeguards.

Exemption eligibility for circulating and hydraulic oils denied as not lubricating oils; verification and corrective action directed.
Circulating oils and hydraulic oils do not qualify as lubricating oils for the purposes of Notification No. 120/84-CE and are therefore not entitled to the exemption; show cause notices, confirmed demands and penalties in respect of such clearances are justified, and administrative verification and corrective action are required where other units have claimed the exemption.

Export under Bond: additional excise duty under the textile duty regime is not payable on bonded exports, clarifying relief at export.
Additional excise duty under the Additional Duty of Excise (Textile & Textile Articles) Act, 1978 is not payable on goods exported under bond because the Central Excise Rules apply to the additional duty, exports under bond are not equivalent to exemption or a nil rate, and notifications and a harmonious construction of rebate and bond provisions demonstrate an intent to make duty incidence nil on export.

Duty recovery for ineligible use of import concessions when units used imports for data management before notification.
Enlargement of eligibility for duty free import concessions is prospective; units that used imported capital goods, raw materials or consumables for data management or other non permitted activities before the amendment breached concession conditions and become liable to duty recovery. Commissioners must survey units, compile names, year wise assessable values and duties for affected imports so that an exemption notification may be issued, and submit reports or a nil report urgently.

Jobbing under Duty Exemption Scheme now subject to prescribed customs procedure and bond requirements for cottage industry work.
Amendment requires that jobbing operations under the Duty Exemption Scheme follow the prescribed customs procedure for concessional import of capital goods used in manufacture of excisable goods rather than being carried out in a warehouse under Section 65. Where jobbing is undertaken by or through cottage or household industry at unspecified locations, the importer must execute a bond with surety or security to ensure compliance; customs will permit clearance subject to sampling, testing, and verification of imported material in resultant exported products, supported by declarations and consumption accounts.